Over two days, nearly 70 participants from 14 countries (Germany, Spain, Belgium, Norway, France, Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg, UK, Czechia, Finland, Canada, the US, Bangladesh, and Japan) engaged in intensive discussions on materials, society, and sustainability.

Topics included: New methodologies beyond LCA and MFA, Social sciences and systems/materials evaluation, Batteries and sustainability issues, Methodological innovations and original applications of LCA and MFA, and Critical Raw Materials.

The program featured 31 oral presentations, 25 posters, and 3 keynote lectures delivered by scholars from NTNU (Trondheim), MIT (Cambridge, MA), and the University of Freiburg (Germany). You can consult the full program in the “Program” section of our website!

The conference fostered lively exchanges, meaningful networking, and interdisciplinary connections in a welcoming atmosphere, with excellent local food and a unique cultural setting — but above all, thanks to the outstanding engagement of all participants!

The Jean-Sébastien Thomas Award for the best paper presented at the conference was attributed this year to Takuma Watari, of NIES, Tsukuba, Japan and the Award for the best poster, to Nils Dittrich of NTNU, Trondheim, Norway. Congratulations!

We extend our sincere thanks to: 

• All our brilliant speakers and poster presenters.

• Our keynote speakers and session chairs: Romain Billy, Christine Ortiz, Ph.D., Ellan Spero, Ph.D., Stefan Pauliuk, Jean-Pierre Birat, Andrea Declich, Marcel Weil, Jens Peters, Anne-Laure Hettinger, Julio L. Rivera, Leiv Kolbeinsen.

• The University of Alcalá and its Department of Economics (Facultad de Económicas, Empresariales y Turismo) for their generous support.

• Our on-site organizing team, whose dedication made this event possible: Jens Peters, Claudia Hidalgo, María del Carmen Ramos, Mercedes Burguillo.

A detailed reflection on the conference by Jean-Pierre Birat is available here: Read the summary and insights on LinkedIn